wrestlingscout's media reviews. From books and documentaries to shoot interviews and matches, I'll review the best (and sometimes the worst) that pro-wrestling has to offer.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Tonga Kid [RF Video Shoot Interview]

The Good
The Samoan lineage in pro-wrestling is well-known and only a handful of them have done extensive interviews. The Tonga Kid's career was unique in that he broke in very young, travelled extensively with Afa and Sika and worked in the height of the Rock-N-Wrestling era. While his memory seems scattered at times, the timeline formula that RF Video sticks to keeps this orderly. His story is really fascinating and he is excited to share it with all his mistakes and successes. He flings some mud, plays it safe and tries to keep it positive, which make this entertaining enough to be worthwhile and honest enough to stay out of the bitter veteran area. While this is not the first shoot interview I'd recommend, it has some great names, great angles and such covered that make it a good one-time listen.

The Bad
I hate to really knock someone when they have memory problems, but the Tonga Kid's were pretty constant and glaring. Forgetting where you had your first match, forgetting how many times you walked out on the WWF, not remembering if you were a babyface or a heel, those are hard things to overlook. While these issues were always cleared up, it makes you suspicious of those details that were not checked. Sure, people makes mistakes. The point of these interviews is to gain a new perspective on pro-wrestling history. If you're version of it is riddled with errors than your interpretation of the past becomes less valued by those interested in pro-wrestling's past.